The SSA uses four living arrangement categories to determine payment amounts:
- Living Arrangement A — When a person owns a home, has rental liability or pays a pro-rata share of household expenses, they are considered to be living in their own household, and their benefit is based on 100 percent of the income guarantee. The SSA states that 81 percent of SSI recipients are in living arrangement A.
- Living Arrangement B — A person who lives in someone else’s house and gets both food and shelter from others living there is subject to a one-third reduction in the income guarantee. According to the SSA, about 5 percent of SSI recipients are in living arrangement B.
- Living Arrangement C — Any eligible child younger than 18 years of age who lives with a parent will have a benefit based on 100 percent of the income guarantee. Eligible children are not charged with ISM for food and shelter provided by parents, and the SSA states that 12 percent of SSI recipients are in living arrangement C.
- Living Arrangement D — If an eligible person is living in a public or private medical institution with Medicaid paying over 50 percent of the cost of their care, they are limited to an SSI payment of $30 per month. ISM is not countable for individuals who are in living arrangement D, which the SSA says includes only 2 percent of all SSI recipients.